


Dig to the Summer Breeze

by elfin



Series: A Little Less Conversation [4]
Category: Stan Lee's Lucky Man (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2018-09-02
Packaged: 2019-07-06 00:02:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15874422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elfin/pseuds/elfin
Summary: Harry and Alistair lay Isabella's ghost to rest





	Dig to the Summer Breeze

Harry opened the door. ‘Hey! You found it.’ Anna was standing protectively behind Daisy’s shoulder, but she relaxed when she saw him.

‘Nice place.’

‘Turns out I married into money.’ He winked at Daisy who laughed. ‘Come in.’ Daisy didn’t hesitate, but Anna remained on the doorstep. ‘That was a joke.’

‘I know.’

‘Look, this arrangement is temporary. I’m just staying here until I get a chance to find a new place.’

She shook her head. ’I don’t mind that you’re living with Alistair. I know why you took the bracelet back, why you gave him hers. I’m just… wary about how Daisy’s taking it all.’

‘I’ll talk to her. Are you sure you won’t come in?’

‘I have to go to work. I’ll pick her up tomorrow morning.’ She leaned in, kissed him on the cheek. Then she was gone.

 

With a little regret and a big sigh, Harry closed the door and stepped into the kitchen, where Daisy and Alistair appeared to be having a stare off.

‘Daisy, this is Alistair.’ 

Obviously coming to some internalised conclusion, she stuck out her hand. Alistair shook it. Her face lit up. ‘You have a magic bracelet too!’

‘I do. I know all about your Dad’s superpowers.’

‘Are you his sidekick?’

Harry couldn’t help himself. ‘Actually, I’m his.’

She grinned and did a quick tour of the ground floor, seemed to think that Alistair at least had an acceptable superhero home. Tony Stark owed a lot to the rest of the world. 

‘So, kiddo, what do you want to do with your superhero dad?’

‘Can we go see a movie?’

‘Course we can.’ He glanced at Alistair, apologetic. ‘Do you mind?’

‘Why would I mind? You two have a good time.’

But Daisy was having none of it. ‘You’re coming too!’

Alistair, bless him, looked completely floored. ‘I thought you’d want to spend some time….’

‘I spend a lot of time with Dad, besides, I think he’d like it if you’d come too.’ 

Harry had the distinct impression that he was busted. He glanced at Alistair and mouthed, ‘Sorry.’

Alistair ignored him. ‘In that case, I’d love to. What are we seeing?’

.  
.  
.

Daisy talked them into seeing the latest proper superhero movie. Apparently it was part of a series, which explained why some of the intricacies of the plot went over Harry’s head. But it was colourful and fun and the soundtrack was classic 70s hard rock. 

They took in a big of popcorn the size of a kitchen bin and drinks so full of sugar Harry was certain all three of them would be up into the wee hours. Halfway through, when the hero god was battling the huge green giant on screen and they’d stopped fighting over the popcorn off-screen, Daisy leaned over and whispered in Harry’s ear,

‘You can hold hands if you want.’ She’d insisted he and Alistair sat next to one another and now he knew why.

Very quietly, Harry whispered back, ‘I don’t think that would be a very good idea.’

She gave him a hard look. ’Do you care what other people think?’

‘Can I explain after the movie?’

She seemed to accept that. Clever girl, his daughter.

 

Alistair took them for a pizza after the film - it was his idea and his treat. Harry was worried it would be too much for him, he’d only been out of the hospital a couple of weeks and he had a check up appointment the next day. But when he raised it, Alistair promised he was fine, so he let it go.

He watched his daughter eat an adult size Hawaiian with dough balls, with no idea where she was putting it all.

‘I remember when you would barely eat anything.’ She just grinned. ‘You were a much cheaper date back then.’

‘You’re not even paying, Dad!’ She didn’t press him for an explanation in the restaurant; mostly she explained about the movie they’d seen and its meaning in the wider context of what she kept calling ‘the MCU’. 

She didn’t ask until he was tucking her in to the guest bed in the spare room. Then she said, ‘I don’t mind that you’re with Alistair, Dad. I like him.’

‘Well, thank you. Your mum’s worried-‘

‘Mum never asks, she just assumes. You shouldn’t be ashamed.’

‘I’m not ashamed, I do love Alistair. But you have to understand, it’s complicated.’

‘Why? Why is it complicated?’

‘Well, for starters, he’s my boss.’ 

That made her giggle. ‘Dad!’ She sounded almost comically scandalised. ‘Seriously?’

‘Seriously. Secondly, he’s my friend and he’s letting me stay with him until I find a new place of my own.’

She looked disappointed. ‘So you’re not… holding hands with him?’

Harry wasn’t about to lie. ‘Like I said, it’s complicated.’

‘He has the same superpowers as you.’

‘They’re not superpowers, you know that don’t you?’ Daisy pursed her lips and nodded. ‘These bracelets make us lucky, they protect us, but at the same time we have to be very careful because if we’re not there could be a price for using them.’

‘Is there always a price?’

‘No. Not if we’re using them wisely.’

‘Mum said Alistair was hurt by a bad woman.’

‘He was. Very badly. But he’s healing.’

‘Is that why you gave him a magic bracelet? So she couldn’t hurt him again?’

‘You’re incredibly perceptive for a twelve year old.’

‘I am. Thanks for noticing.’ She snuggled down, yawning - which was surprise after the bucket of Fanta in the cinema and the pint of Cola in Pizza Express. He kissed her goodnight.

‘Do you want me to leave the light on out in the hall?’

‘I’m not eight, Dad. It’s fine.’ 

He nodded. ‘Sweet dreams.’

‘You too. And Dad? I don’t mind if you and Alistair hold hands in the same bed tonight, okay? You don’t have to sleep on the sofa just because you’re assuming.’

He wanted to go back in and her a huge hug. Instead, he said, ‘I love you, Daisy.’

‘Love you too, Dad.’ Those were the best words in the world.

.  
.  
.

Even in the dim light, Harry could make out the dark edges of the bruising still visible on Alistair’s head. 

’Stop looking at me like that.’

‘Like what?’

‘Like I’m some… miracle or something. I’m not. You know what I am.’

Harry didn’t rise to the bait. He covered Alistair’s bracelet with his hand, stroking the little hairs on his arm with his fingertips.

‘I keep meaning to ask, how does this,’ he tapped the bronze cuff, ‘sit with that.’ He looked pointedly at the silver cross back where it should be, resting against Alistair’s pale skin just below the hollow in his throat that Harry wanted to lick. When he raised his eyes, Alistair was smiling, amused. 

‘Do I answer the question you asked, or the one you didn’t?’

‘The one I asked.’

‘Okay. Honestly, not easily.’

‘You don’t talk about your faith much.’

‘I don’t talk about it much to you, Harry. I’m not the converting type, and you… you’re a lifelong, card carrying atheist.’ Harry nodded once. ‘Don’t worry about it. I’ll work through the things I need to work through.’ 

‘You can talk to me. I may not share your beliefs but I’d like to try to understand them.’ 

Alistair smiled. ‘Thank you.’ He shifted closer, hand on Harry’s chest, tracing the curve of his clavicle. ‘Can I answer the other question now?’

.  
.  
.

Sometimes the differences between dating a woman and dating a man were smaller than he might have imagined. 

‘At least tell me what the dress code is!’

‘Smart casual. You never go out looking anything but!’ 

Crossing the bedroom, Harry put his hands on Alistair’s waist, being sure to keep him at arm’s length because he had a reservation and if he stood any closer they’d never make it in time. 

‘It’s somewhere we can be ourselves.’

 

They walked to the tube station, took the Northern Line to Bank and Harry led the way through narrow back streets to the glass tower. The doorman greeted him by name and pressed the call button for the elevator. The doors opened a few seconds later. 

‘Enjoy your evening, Sirs.’

The ascent was silent and smooth. Harry reached between them and took Alistair’s hand, immediately feeling him tense. 

‘Relax. Trust me.’

‘Sorry.’ He squeezed Harry’s fingers in apology. 

‘Isabella used to come here. I met her here a few times.’

‘You’re taking me to the favoured haunt of the woman who tried to kill us both?’ He sounded more amused than angry. 

‘You have to admit, she had good taste.’

Alistair’s smile was genuine and Harry felt him relax. ‘That, I can’t deny.’

The car stopped and the doors slid open. They stepped out onto the roof terrace. 

It was a crisp evening with clear skies. The lighting was subtle, highlighting the bar in amber. Harry ordered a bourbon and Alistair a whisky, no ice.

Drinks in hands, they were shown to a quiet table in the far corner of the terrace. The frosted glass around the edge came to shoulder height once they were seated and the view across the city was breathtaking. 

‘I can see why she liked it.’ 

Harry nodded. Memories of her had struck him as soon as the elevator doors opened, and for the first time he’d felt a sharp moment of grief. He settled his gaze on the man sitting opposite him, perusing the menu with an amused smile. 

‘What?’

‘Did you play the lottery last week?’

Harry shrugged. ‘The food is worth it. Besides, I haven’t paid rent for a couple of months.’ He picked up his drink. ‘I wanted to share this with you.’

Alistair closed his menu and slid it onto the table, sitting forward. 

‘You miss her?’

‘Sometimes. Out of context. If she’d just threatened me, I could have forgiven her. But you....’ He shook his head. ‘She knew how I feel about you. She hurt you to get at me and that’s unforgivable.’

‘She electrocuted you. She actually killed you for long enough that Eve was able to remove your bracelet. You think I could forgive her for that?’

‘Is that what you told her? That night in the empty house?’

‘I told her she wouldn’t get away with what she’d done, with all the people she’d killed. Then I told her I’d loved her.’ He took a drink, the whisky easing the admission. ‘Then she bashed my head in and watched while I fell down three flights of stairs.’

Harry reached across the table and curled his fingers around Alistair’s. ‘She was so dangerous and that made her irresistible and very sexy. We were both taken in.’

Alistair looked at him wryly. ‘I think she was a different woman with me than she was with you. She slept with you because she was attracted to you. She slept with me to get back at you, to get access to our cases.’

‘That wasn’t the only reason. She wouldn’t have whored herself just to get back at me. She must have been attracted to you. How could she not be?’

He let go of Alistair’s hand, thinking maybe he was making him uncomfortable. But Alistair stopped him, pushing his fingers through Harry’s.

‘You’re biased.’

‘Oh, yes.’

The waiter didn’t blink when he came over to take their order and neither did the sommelier as he and Alistair chatted about wines and finally agreed on a bottle so far down the wine list Harry thought the cost would probably double the final bill, but he didn’t care. 

Alistair’s comfort with being physical in public was surprising him, although he wasn’t sure why. 

‘Why do you think she wanted us to get together?’ 

‘I kept asking myself that, all the way up to the moment we first kissed. After that, I really didn’t care. But I should have kept asking. Because I think she wanted us as close as we could be, so that when she got rid of me, it would hurt you as much as possible.’

The idea honestly hadn’t even crossed his mind; that anyone could be that cold, that cruel. If that’s what Alistair thought....

‘Why are you still with me?’

‘Because I love you, Harry. God help me.’ He smiled warmly, lifting their hands to press their palms together. ‘What she did… it still hurts like hell. And I’m not talking about the headaches. But you and I - us - came out of it, and I don’t want to lose that too.’

‘You won’t. We won’t.’

‘I haven’t had much luck with relationships.’

‘Ah, but now you’re wearing a bracelet that literally brings you luck.’

That made him laugh. ‘Good to know I don’t have to rely solely on my charm and good looks.’

‘You’d be surprised how far your charm and good lucks will get you. You think we’re together because she wanted it, but I don’t. I don’t think any lucky charm is that powerful. There’s always been some kind of spark between us, you can’t deny that.’

‘If you’d asked me when I first walked into MIS two years ago that this is where we’d be….’

‘You’d have laughed in my face.’

‘I’d have kneed you in the balls.’

‘Vicious!’

He smirked. ’Justified.’

‘I thought the world of you even before Isabella came along.’

Alistair pulled their joined hands towards him and kissed Harry’s fingers.

 

The waiter took their plates and refilled their glasses, taking away the empty bottle.

‘She really did have good taste,’ Alistair admitted. ‘You used to meet here?’ 

Harry nodded. ‘She liked the view.’ He picked up his glass. ‘Can I ask you something?’

‘Of course. Anything.’

‘Your cross… why did you give it to her?’

He smiled, shook his head. ‘Looking back… it was stupid, false hope. I wanted to think there was good in her.’

‘There was, once.’

‘Once. But no longer. I was trying to convince her to confess. I don’t think I believed that she would but she’d meant so much to me….’

‘I know she did.’

‘And I meant nothing to her.’

‘That’s not true. She wasn’t completely heartless.’

‘I saw behind the mask, that night….’

Harry sighed softly, hating himself for being the crux of so much pain. ‘I am sorry.’

‘You have nothing to be sorry for. You tried to tell me.’

‘I should have done more. If I’d been in your shoes, I wouldn’t have believed me either.’

‘You would. You’d have trusted me. I’m just such a stubborn bastard….’ 

‘Stop. She did enough damage. Don’t let her memory do more.’

 

Harry paid and they returned to the bar, picking up a couple of measures of Alistair’s favourite whisky, moving away from the quiet crowd to stand at the edge of the roof.

They stood side by side so they could feel one another pressing close, looking over the glass, all the way down.

‘Have you been tempted? To use it, I mean.’

Alistair shook his head slowly. ‘No. I mean, now and again I’ve felt… something. Yesterday, when I was leaving the hospital I heard someone shout and I stopped and turned.... A car drove straight across the zebra crossing, didn’t slow down. Of course, it might have, had I been on the crossing.’

‘Sometimes it looks and feels like coincidence. Other times, when the situation is more desperate, it can feel like a miracle. But it’s just the bracelet making the things happen that need to happen to protect you.’

‘How do you... use it? In anger, I mean.’

‘You don’t.’

‘But if I needed to? To help you, or Suri, or Steve....’

‘You still don’t. But if you absolutely have to, just... think about what you want, wish for it almost. Remember you have to weigh the advantage against the consequences.’

‘I know. I made you a promise and I won’t break it.’ They’d talked about it. They weren’t sure how far Alistair’s bracelet would go to balance his luck; whether because it couldn’t hurt the man he loved, it might hurt Harry’s loved ones instead, or it might go after Alistair’s friends, his colleagues, the way it had done with Harry.

‘The night I saw you with Isabella in that bar... I went a bit crazy, won twenty grand at a casino at the real, personal cost of someone else. Made this crazy bet I should never have been able to win. But as I walked away, I regretted it, felt sick, so I literally threw it away; threw all the money into the air behind me. I’m hoping some homeless person picked it up. Or the street cleaners.’

‘You threw away twenty thousand pounds?’ 

Harry turned to look at him. ‘I wasn’t sure which part of that story you’d pick up on.’ Alistair just leaned to rest the side of his head against Harry’s shoulder, evidently not wanting to have that conversation. ‘I didn’t need it. I’d only gone there because I figured the bad luck was already in play and I was owed its balance.’

Alistair lifted his head. ‘Are there any more of them out there?’

‘Bracelets? I honestly don’t know. Eve doesn’t know. She thinks maybe they were crafted as a pair and they always find each other.’

‘That’s one, very romantic, way of thinking about it.’

‘She is a romantic. Look how she fawns over us two.’

Alistair finished his drink. ‘Thank you, for bringing me here.’

‘Good place to lay Isabella’s ghost to rest.’

‘Yes.’ He put his glass down on the table behind them and turned to face Harry, standing close enough for him to feel the heat of Alistair’s skin through his shirt. ‘But while they’re obviously very open minded here, they’d probably frown on us fucking against the glass, which is what I really, really want to do right now.’

Harry was hard in a heartbeat. ‘Jesus, Alistair. Give a man some warning. You don’t play fair.’

‘Our place has a lot of glass.’

He didn’t even pick up on the ‘our’, not until several days later.

.  
.  
.

‘You don’t have to treat me as if I’m about to break.’

Harry leaned down, kissed Alistair’s throat. ‘I’m sorry. I’m just having trouble shaking the memory-‘

‘-of finding me, I know.’ Alistair hooked one strong leg over Harry’s thigh and tackled him until he was on top, slid his hands out over Harry’s wrists until he could pin them to the bed. 

‘But you did find me. I’m alive, here, and horny as fuck.’

‘Why does you talking dirty sound so much dirtier than when others do it?’

‘Because you think of me as a bit of a prude?’

‘I do not.’ He tried to deny it but thought maybe Alistair was right. Right until he sat up, straddling Harry’s hips, trapping his cock in the crease of his arse, sliding his own erection along Harry’s abdomen. ‘Fuck.’

‘That’s what I’ve been hoping.’ He reached over to the bedside table for the tube in the drawer, and Harry watched wide-eyed as he coated a finger and reached around, pushing it inside himself.

Words, even those with only one syllable, were beyond him. So that when Alistair’s hand wrapped around his dick, when he sat up and positioned himself, slid down on to Harry in increments, all he could do was stare and remember to breathe.

Finally, Alistair bent forward to kiss him before sitting back, arse flush with Harry’s balls. Harry curled a hand around one thigh, grip tight.

‘The way you’re looking at me right now,’ Alistair breathed, ‘that’s much, much better.’

Harry thought it might look a little like worship, because that’s how he felt about him at that moment. Completely and utterly in awe, in love, in lust. Alistair rose up a couple of inches and dropped back down slowly, the muscles in his thigh trembling under Harry’s palm. Harry had to close his eyes, block out the view for a moment because that and the sensation was too much. This was going to be over far too quickly if he kept watching. Little sparks of colour went off behind his eyelids, shocks of pleasure sparking along his nerves.

‘Alistair….’

He moved again, up then down, setting a lazy, languorous rhythm.

Forcing himself to open his eyes, Harry gazed at Alistair’s face, at the way his mouth was slightly open and his eyes were closed, head tilted back as he took what he wanted. Prying his nails from Alistair’s thigh, Harry wrapped his hand around his cock and met the rhythm, returning the exquisite torture. 

Alistair finally met Harry’s gaze, and moaned, softly. Harry’s orgasm hit him hard, spiralling out from his balls into his stomach, along his limbs, up through his cock buried deep in Alistair’s body. He felt Alistair’s climax a second or two later, watched it play across his face before he reached his arms around him and pulled him down to his chest, hugging him so tight he muttered something about needing to breathe.

After a few moments, Harry let go and Alistair stretched out on top of him, tangling their legs, getting one arm around Harry’s shoulders, pressing his face into Harry’s neck.

‘Not going to break,’ he murmured, and Harry laughed, turning to kiss him.

‘Message received.’


End file.
